I spend allot of time in my kitchen. Preparing, chopping, sauteing, broiling, pan searing, plating, I love it all. I learned to cook at an early age, mostly out of necessity. A single mother with two jobs and four children made for some hungry moments. I believe the firs thing I cooked on my own was either a coffee cake with cinnamon walnut topping, or a fried bologna sandwich. Whichever came first I was extremely proud of my accomplishment.
I loved watching my mother cook. She spent time showing me the basics, and let me help her prepare meals when ever I asked. My favorite experience was shopping with her at an outdoor market located downtown. An old world style open market with local vegetables piled high, fresh fish displayed in all their glory on beds of clean shaved ice, every cut of meat imaginable, including cured meats hanging high above for all to see. The sights, sounds and smells of the market were intoxicating to me, and created in me an appreciation for food and for cooking.
My Children hover around me in the kitchen while I cook and I love it. letting them get involved has opened their eyes to many different types of food, some of which I would not have even considered eating when I was a their age. I have found that my son and daughter's palate has has grown since they started learning in the kitchen. If they help me wash the broccoli, put it in the steam basket, set the flame to it, and touch it with a bit of salt and butter, they take pride in the process and ownership of the meal they helped create. The best part is they eat it and enjoy it! Fish, greens, whole grains and vegetables become and adventure and children become curious about how things taste when they help create it.
So many other benefits surround getting your children active in the kitchen. They learn self confidence, creativity, knowledge of where food comes from, time management, organization, and even basic science. So take your child shopping, get them involved in the kitchen and teach them the joys of food!
